VCTs have invested almost £1bn in small companies between April 2004 and April 2009, according to a new survey from the AIC.
The £973m of funding has been invested in 384 unquoted UK companies at an average size of £2.5m.
Leisure and hospitality has been the main industry to benefit from VCT investment at just under 20%, followed by business services at 13% and industrial services on 12%. Other investment areas include IT, media, environmental and healthcare.
In a single year, VCTs return 67% of the estimated tax cost of any investment, according to the research. Over a five year period, this equates to repaying the estimate cost to the public purse three times through tax returns generated by VCT-backed companies.
Meanwhile, of the 303 investee companies which supplied employment data, 47% have experienced an increase in employment.
AIC director general Ian Sayers says the results show the success of the current VCT system and urges any new administration not to make unnecessary changes.
"This research demonstrates VCT investment provides substantial benefits for UK small businesses and the economy. We urge policymakers to reaffirm their commitment to VCTs which are the best way to support enterprise and future economic growth," he says.
"New initiatives are unlikely to have the substance or staying power of the well established VCT network.
"All too often, new proposals to support small businesses have surface attractions, but fail to answer satisfactorily key questions such as 'where will the money come from?', 'how long will it take to put a new mechanism in place?', 'will Europe delay the scheme's introduction?', and 'will it really work better than what we already have?'"
